


Spotify Wrapped 2020 tumblr prompts

by catfishcalamity



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Complicated Beifong Family Drama, Domestic, Fluff, Multi, Now with Complicated Zhurrick Drama in ch9, Rating Varies By Chapter, uhh what do I tag this as
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:08:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28150632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catfishcalamity/pseuds/catfishcalamity
Summary: A collection of pretty short prompts I received on tumblr based on my spotify wrapped 2020. About 99% is kyalin, with one bopal fic, one Lin and Suyin fic, one kuvira-centric, and one zhu li centric fic. I'm updating as I complete more prompts.
Relationships: Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Lin Beifong & Suyin Beifong, Lin Beifong/Kya II, Varrick/Zhu Li Moon
Comments: 11
Kudos: 35





	1. 22: I work nights and you work days by to kill a king

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! So this first ficlet is bopal, but the rest are pretty much just kyalin. Also, the fic as a whole isn't rated because there's different ratings for different prompts, which I will include in the notes. 
> 
> This one is based on I work nights and you work days by to kill a king and is rated G.

It had been upsetting, at the beginning of their relationship, that he couldn't see Opal very often. She had been busy doing airbender-y things, and he had been working for Kuvira. After the whole Kuvira deal, they had stayed together for a while, a month or so, but duty called and all that— Opal had taken to the nomad lifestyle of the air nation, and she missed traveling around, the wind in her hair and on her heels, and helping people, and he really couldn't blame her for that. Also, truth be told, he kind of liked being busy too. They had decided to make an arrangement: they would have one apartment, and when Opal was coming back in to town she would stay there, and Bolin would stay in Republic City and do whatever job he found to keep himself occupied. 

Bolin had worried about being too clingy, or of asking too much of her, but Opal still found her way back to the apartment at the very least one a month, and she would always stay for a minimum of five days, and that was enough for him. She was happy, so he was too.

He was especially happy that night, as he stumbled in home late from his latest project with Varrick (it was something about a cradle that rocked itself and had a mobile that played music, shone lights, and could make a bottle for the baby; ever since Zhu Li had gotten pregnant, the majority of Varrick's ideas had been baby-related) and found Opal asleep on the couch, a sign that said "surprise!!!" dangling from her fingers. He quietly removed his shoes and shuffled over to the couch, where he knelt down and gently brushed her hair off her forehead before placing a gentle kiss there. Opal stirred, her eyes slowly opening. 

"Hey there, sleepyhead," said Bolin softly, wrapping her in a gentle hug.


	2. 12: futile devices by sufjan stevens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated G, kyalin

Lin was laying on the couch, her head in Kya's lap as Kya gently ran her fingers through her hair absentmindedly, focusing on the record crooning softly as sweet-smelling smoke from her incense filled the dimly lit apartment. The lights of the city twinkled in the windows, casting a hazy glow across the otherwise dark room.

Lin thought to herself, in the deep part of her mind that wasn't half-asleep, that she had felt safer, more warm and more loved in the last four months since Kya had moved in than she had in the entire two decades before that combined. She loved Kya, deeply and utterly, and she felt loved equally in return. She wanted to express it, wanted to make sure Kya knew how all-consuming her feelings for her were, but words were futile devices; she knew she would never find the words to describe it, not even if she had an encyclopedia of every language and the power to weave and spin words into silk like all those poets Kya loved. 

So, she settled on nestling further into Kya and pressing a lazy kiss into her stomach before she fell asleep. Vulnerability was terrifying, but it was the most meaningful action she could think of offering, so she did.


	3. 3+33: breath by to kill a king+ dead sea by the lumineers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated G again! Kyalin

Kya was laying in bed, her breaths deep and slow and rhythmic, looking at the light from the full moon that shone in through the bedroom window and made the walls look like they were ever so softly glowing in the night. She rolled and shifted again, trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep, and ended up facing a sleeping Lin. Lin was so cute when she was sleeping, Kya thought. Cute wasn't necessarily a word you could use to describe Lin often; she was too hard, or at least she tried to be. While she slept, though, she softened, and all the stress seemed to melt away, leaving a decidedly _cute_ Lin in its place. Lin murmured something in her sleep, too faint to make out, and began blindly reaching for Kya, who quietly shuffled closer until Lin wrapped her arms around her. Kya smiled softly, and her thoughts shifted to Lin. Lin was always there for her, always a rock to keep her grounded. Lin was like her own personal spirit water—she could heal her from the inside out with just her presence, with just a hand on her back and a quiet whisper of " _Breathe, Kya, just breathe. Let it out_ " when everything became too much. She had kept her afloat through several storms in her mind and spirit; she would never be able to sink, not with Lin around.

Kya lazily wrapped an arm around Lin and drifted off to sleep, her mind full of increasingly fuzzy thoughts of the woman next to her until they turned into dreams that were worn at the edges.


	4. 69: maps by the front bottoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated G again, but focused on just a young Kya this time!!

Kya had been drawn to the maps in the library of the island since before she could walk, before she could speak, before she could fathom what they represented. As she had gotten older and was told stories of the travels and adventures her parents and their friends had gone on, she had begun to stare at the maps and imagine her own adventures that she would have as she got older, too. 

Now, at 19, Kya was restless, feeling trapped on Air Temple Island and by her family. It was too much-- she needed space, time to breathe, to find out who she was without the people she had grown up surrounded by. She may have had the most Water Tribe appearance out of her siblings, but she had been the one to inherit her father’s nomadic wanderlust. She had plans, so many big, big plans, and the itch to pack her bags and go far, far away. She rolled over in her bed to face the large window in her room, moonlight washing over her face as she let out a slow, deep breath. 

She would talk to her father about it in the morning. For tonight, she would dream of all the places she was going.


	5. 47: henna tattoo by field medic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet another G, young one sided kyalin

Kya had known, logically, that Tenzin was going to ask Lin out at some point, and that Lin was going to accept for one reason or another. However, that did nothing to comfort the shock and hurt that had hit her like a tank, or the pit of resentment and jealousy growing deep in her heart.

She hadn't expected how deeply Lin dating someone, much less her brother, was going to affect her— after all, they were just friends, right? So it shouldn't have mattered, shouldn't have made her feel like this. It shouldn't have tinted their time spent together with the saddest shades of heartbreak that Kya was certain were not supposed to be applicable to this situation. They were still together all the time, so why did it hurt?

She had done silly little temporary tattoos with Lin the week before, a dye made from the paste of some plants on the island, and the fact that they were fading was bothering Kya much more than she would care to admit. It felt like Lin's love for her, her attention, her time with her, was fading too. If she didn't know better, she would think that her apparent heartbreak was because she—

Oh.

_Oh._


	6. 17: fifteen minutes by mike krol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh let's go T for language, lin and suyin's not so existent relationship

Everything in Lin's life had fallen apart over the last decade; Chief had resigned and then promptly fucked off to who-knows-where, Aang had died, Tenzin had left her for that acolyte, and she had been promoted to a role that she had quickly realized she had never wanted for herself. She knew, logically, that it wasn't all Suyin's fault, but _spirits_ , was it easy to feel like it was.

If Su hadn't been such a fucking idiot, if she hadn't involved herself with the triads, if she hadn't forced the Chief with her outrageous behavior to send her off to their grandparents, maybe things would be different. Maybe their mother (if she really deserved the title) would still be here, filling the role of Chief of Police, maybe Lin would be different and Tenzin would have stayed, maybe, maybe, maybe.

As much as her little sister pushed her buttons, Lin had silently held out hope with each new blow that Suyin would come to her senses and come back, help share her burdens and act like a fucking adult. Instead, she had fucked off to the desert to go build a city— another one of her wild dreams that would no doubt end terribly, like all the others; Lin shuddered at the memory of when Su, at eight years old, had decided that breeding possum-bunnies was her life's calling. 

Lin had been secretly hoping, despite her still-festering anger, that Su would show up for Aang's funeral. Though she would never admit it, least of all to Su, she missed her sister, and she missed having someone who knew how to help with her emotions. Of course, Su never arrived, too preoccupied with something frivolous, no doubt, and that was the final blow. 

She should've learned by now to stop hoping.


	7. 23: no shade in the shadow of the cross by sufjan stevens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is definitely an M. Kyalin in their younger years as fwb

It was all over the news that evening: a triad hostage situation gone wrong, something about a crooked cop who didn't follow through on his deal, and even after the Chief of Police herself had released their member in custody, they killed the officer's daughter in front of the Chief and the child's father. As a result, Kya was not the least bit surprised when she opened her door and saw Lin, looking like hell. "Lin, honey, how much did you drink?" Kya asked as Lin staggered through her apartment, threatening to topple at any second as she made her way towards the couch. Lin pointedly ignored the question, slowly sat down, and made a grabby-hands motion towards Kya, who sighed and followed her. As soon as Kya sat down, Lin rolled and straddled her, and clumsily kissed her as tears rolled down her cheeks. Kya kissed back gently for a moment, her fingers sweeping over Lin's cheeks comfortingly before pulling away, even as Lin tried to follow her and regain her lips. "Lin," Kya said sadly, "you can't keep doing this. You need to process your emotions like a grown-up." Lin recoiled, confused. "But Kya, you always make me feel better. That's what this whole arrangement was about." Kya sighed. "Yes, Lin, but this shouldn't be a stand-in for therapy. I can't just keep fucking you better. You're going to have to deal with this at some point." Lin looked at her as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "But you help me forget, Kya," she said. "Help me forget, just for tonight. _Please_. I'm falling apart."

Kya pulled Lin into a hug as she began to sob, and held her that way until she fell asleep, her face buried in the crook of Kya's neck.


	8. 91: old number seven by the devil makes three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuvira centric. Also, as a heads up, the views expressed on adopted children vs biological children are absolutely NOT my views on that, but I was writing from Kuvira's POV and based on the whole "getting engaged to her adoptive brother" thing I don't think she really saw herself as one of Su's kids

Kuvira sat at the bar and nursed her whiskey, a sour expression on her face. She hated Zaofu, if she were honest— too many memories. For as much as Suyin loved to call her her daughter, both of them knew it wasn't true. Sure, she had housed her, had taken care of her in a distant way, but she hadn't been a _mother_. She had been to her _real_ children, her biological children, but Kuvira had always been very aware that she was not included in that group. She had been clothed with the hand-me-downs of the other children, her toys were all of the dolls Opal no longer played with, she conspicuously absent in the family photos. She had missed her real mother, at first, when she was still a moderately naive child, but it wasn't like she was any better; she had dropped her off on Zaofu's doorstep without any regard for what happened after.

Kuvira downed the rest of her glass in one big gulp, nodding when the bartender asked if she wanted a refill. She had tried her best, she really had— she had always tried to listen to her parents, to Suyin, tried to obey. It wasn't her fault her temper got the best of her sometimes. She had been a child, and spirits knew Suyin's temper could get the best of her too after a couple glasses of wine. She had essentially raised herself, long before she had gotten to Zaofu. She had grown up far too fast, and she had grown up mean. It wasn't her fault, not really, not when she hadn't had anybody to show her how to be kind. _Not when she was a nuisance or an afterthought to everyone_ , she thought bitterly, taking another swig of her drink. She'd been at the bar too long, had been coming too frequently, and she knew deep down she should stop, but she found herself downing another, and another, and getting madder with every drink until the bar closed and she slunk around the darkened streets of Zaofu in the small of night, watching her breath cloud in front of her until the sun began to rise.


	9. 57: blister in the sun by the violent femmes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, breaking out of kyalin!! Taking a look at Zhu Li

Zhu Li Moon was many things: a remarkably smart woman, the best assistant anyone could possibly ask for, and very, very in love. She didn't know why, though. She was very pretty, very smart, incredibly capable; she could've had her choice of partners. So why, why, _why_ was she in love with the one man who seemed to never appreciate her?

Varrick was funny, sure, in a strange way, and good looking, and he was definitely charismatic, but he took Zhu Li for granted— it was just generally accepted that she would always be at his side, ready to cater to his every whim. _Maybe that was what she liked_ , she thought, _the reliability of it all_ ; at the end of the day, it would always be her at Varrick's side, in whatever capacity he wanted. _Or maybe_ , murmured a darker part of her mind, _it was that she liked the fact that he never noticed her, liked that he seemed unattainable. Maybe she liked being treated like another tool— maybe she felt she deserved it._

Zhu Li wasnt sure why she kept putting up with Varrick's shit, honestly; he treated her terribly, he had no respect for her (despite her being the reason for the success behind everything he did), and the notion that he might love her back in his own strange way was not one that would really be a positive; whatever it was between them wasn't exactly a healthy relationship, and the thought of reciprocation, although she wanted it, would objectively only exacerbate the poor dynamics in place. There had been a few moments where she had thought that maybe, just maybe, he was about to profess his love to her, and although she had been hopeful, happy, and excited, she had also been secretly glad when it hadn't turned out to be the case.

Zhu Li sighed, slouching further into her chair. She couldn't explain her behavior, couldn't rationalize it at all, but she stayed. She always stayed. _Maybe she was addicted_ , she thought, _addicted to the drama of it all, to the yearning, to the idea that one day he would change for the better and they would get married and have a nice house with 2.5 kids_. Maybe she was stuck waiting on a dream. Maybe it would never happen, and she would be waiting the rest of her life for something to happen. That was a sad idea— her life spent serving someone in hope for scraps of love, of respect. She really ought to do something about that: stand up up to him, demand to be treated as an equal, do _something_.

"ZHU LI!", came a frantic voice from down the hall, "THAT CALLUS ON MY FOOT IS BACK!" 

"COMING!", she called back, rising out of her seat.


End file.
